


not about the destination

by ObscureReference



Category: Fire Emblem: If | Fire Emblem: Fates, Fire Emblem: Kakusei | Fire Emblem: Awakening
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Road Trip, Canon Convergence, F/M, Found Footage, Grinding, Horror Elements, Kissing, M/M, Missing Persons, Multi, Video Cameras, Voyeurism
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-16
Updated: 2018-09-16
Packaged: 2019-07-12 23:23:34
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,135
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16005458
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ObscureReference/pseuds/ObscureReference
Summary: “So, to start from the beginning,” Inigo says, “there’s been this guy that has been hanging around Owain’s house recently?”It sounds almost like a question. Inigo looks to Owain offscreen for assurance and apparently receives it. He looks back to the camera.“Owain has seen him the most,” he continues. “Severa has seen him a couple times. I think I might have seen him once? Anyway, this has only been in the last, like, month or so.”





	not about the destination

**Author's Note:**

> If you've seen my tumblr, you've probably seen my obsession with Modern World Trio becoming essentially missing persons after being whisked away by Anankos to the Fates universe with no warning. Which is essentially what happens in canon, but because it's a modern world with modern technology, the fact that they're missing people is a bit more prevalent in the story. Also now they're on a road trip and dating each other.
> 
> I'll probably do another "modern world trio goes missing" fic at some point in my life before I truly lay the idea to rest. I've already talked about different versions of this scenario enough, lol.
> 
> Also they use their Awakening names here because, obviously, there's not need for an alias yet. This is essentially a modern Awakening fic except for the fact human Anankos is here, which makes it also Fates. But mostly it's just the Trio being themselves. With some modern influences, obviously. Enjoy!

The video begins. Owain’s excited face focuses into frame. He holds the camera—presumably his phone or some other small device—in front of himself. He’s sitting in the passenger seat of a car. There is undefinable movement in the corner of the frame.

“Hark, the winds of adventure call to us,” Owain says in a tone that sounds like he's trying too hard to sound dark and gravely. He also looks like he’s trying very hard to be serious. “Though not a single cloud marks the azure skies, something mysterious lingers in the air. Something ominous. Three heroes teeter on the edge of the unknown. What sort of escapades await—”

“Are you seriously going to bring _all_ of that?” Inigo’s voice cuts through Owain’s monologue.

Owain tilts the camera to show Inigo seated behind the wheel of the car, leaning his head out the open window. Another shaky tilt of the camera reveals Severa making her way from the front sidewalk to the curb where Inigo is parked. Two suitcases are being wheeled down the driveway in either hand. Her purse is rather large. She’s wearing sunglasses.

“I need it!” Severa yells back. Another small bag dangles from the shoulder that isn’t sporting her purse.

“All of it?”

“Yes!”

“That looks like enough for an army!”

Severa calls back something inaudible.

The camera turns back to Inigo again just in time to catch him shaking his head with a fond smile and pulling back from the window. Inigo looks at the camera. He blinks. “Are you recording this?”

“Yeah,” Owain says. “I thought it would be fun to look back on this later.”

Inigo shakes his head again. “I don’t think I’m going to be forgetting this anytime soon.”

“We haven’t even gotten started yet!”

Owain smile is audible in his voice.

“Trust me,” Inigo says, giving the camera a knowing look. “I’m sure you two will make it memorable.”

Severa passes by Inigo’s window, bags rolling behind her.

Owain snickers. “Bold of you to make fun of Severa’s bags when you brought so many yourself.”

“Listen,” Inigo starts, mock offended, “I brought only necessities.”

“Uh-huh,” Owain says. “Like that bag of chocolate I saw you sneak into your suitcase when you thought I wasn’t looking.”

“Hey, we can’t all pack our lives into one backpack, alright?” He gives Owain a significant look. “You never know—"

There’s a bang in the background. The slap of skin on metal.

“Open the trunk!” Severa says loudly, out of frame.

Inigo leans down and presses a button. A shadow crosses the back window as the trunk is opened.

The camera stays focused on Inigo, who stares back at it. The corner of his mouth twitches upwards. Owain snickers like he knows what’s to come.

“Hey!” Severa shouts, annoyed. “Inigo! There’s no room!”

Owain and Inigo laugh. Inigo twists around in his seat, leaning out the window again.

“How do you know all those are mine?”

The camera shakes as Owain fumbles with it. There’s a blurry shot of Owain’s jeans.

“Because—”

The camera cuts off.

 

 

 

Inigo is driving. Green trees pass by outside the window. Presumably Owain is holding the camera from the passenger seat again. Inigo is singing along with the radio. His voice is pretty decent.

_“Mamma Mia! Here we go again! My, my! How can I resist you?”_

“Okay, it’s been twenty minutes,” Owain says with a sigh. “Now it’s time to play real road trip music.”

Pretending he hasn’t heard, Inigo sings even louder. He reaches over and turns the volume of the radio up. An AUX cord connects the car radio to his cell phone, which sits in the middle console between the seats.

Barely audible over the music, Severa says, “ _Inigo_.”

With exaggerated exasperation, Inigo reaches out and turns the music down low but not off. _Mamma Mia_ continues in the background.

“Alright, what do you suggest we do?” Inigo asks. “Did _you_ make a playlist specifically meant to last us for hours?”

“As a matter of fact, I did,” Owain says proudly.

Inigo scoffs. “Yeah, well, I did too. And as long as I’m driving, I decide what we play.”

“Great,” Severa says, leaning between the driver’s and passenger’s seats from the back. She looks at Owain. “You got that on camera, right? No take-backs.”

“Sure did,” Owain says proudly, amused.

“What?” Inigo glances at the rearview mirror at her, then back at the road. “No—”

“So when I drive, I decide what we pick,” Severa declares. She flops back out of frame against the back seat. The camera remains focused on Inigo’s disgruntled face.

“I didn’t say—”

“You said it,” Severa and Owain say at once, interrupting Inigo’s protests.

Inigo rolls his eyes. “Okay, well, if I’m always the driver then—”

“I’ll drive next,” Owain says quickly.

Severa and Inigo both shoot him down quickly, voices overlapping.

“No way,” Severa says. “I’m not listening to Naruto opening number five on repeat for ten hours.”

Inigo says, “Not if I never let you.”

“You’ll get tired eventually.” Owain sounds like he’s pouting.

“Yeah,” Severa agrees. “And when he does, _I’ll_ drive.”

“I don’t trust Owain’s taste in music,” Inigo says, “and I don’t trust _your_ driving skills.”

Severa makes an offended sound. “Excuse me? What’s that supposed to mean?”

Inigo looked determinedly through the windshield and not back at Severa, but the upward curve of his lips when he speaks shows that he’s not as serious as his voice would betray.

“I think the dent in your front bumper would have a thing or two to say—”

“That wasn’t even my fault!” Severa protests.

Inigo says, “Yes, of course, your road rage is definitely—"

“They were going too slow!”

“Little old ladies in their buggies tremble with fear when they see you coming.”

“Good! Then they’ll be out of the road!”

Severa and Inigo make several more rapid, overlapping comments about music bylaws and whether Severa is fit to drive Inigo’s care. Closer to the camera, Owain, with some humor, says, “We’re off to a great start, folks.”

The camera cuts off.

 

 

 

“—into this now,” Severa says, looking at the person beyond the camera.

Inigo seems to be holding the camera this time. There’s mirth in his voice. “Yeah, I mean, why not? It’ll be fun.”

“Fun,” Severa says. “Sure.”

Inigo pans the camera around the room. They’re sitting in a motel room. It isn’t very large. The carpet is brown, and so are the covers of the bed Severa is sitting on. The room looks mostly clean. It is, all things considered, exactly like most other motels.

A pile of assorted bags tucked into the corner peek into frame for a brief moment. The entrance and bathroom door are located on adjacent walls. The bathroom door is closed, but the light is on under the door and a faint splatter of water can be heard behind it. Presumably Owain is taking a shower.

Finally the camera pans back to Severa, who is still sitting with her legs crossed over the side of the bed. Inigo seems to be sitting on the other bed across from her.

“Well?” Severa says expectantly. She’s lost her sunglasses.

“Let’s start with an introduction, shall we?” Inigo says. “So… how about your name, age, what we’re doing, anything else you want to add?”

Severa snorts. “What is this, third grade?”

“Aw, come on.”

“Who would even be watching this who didn’t know us already? Better yet, why would anyone who wasn’t _us_ watch this?”

“Severa, please?”

“Fine.” Severa looks at the camera. For her complaints, she doesn’t look very put out at all. “I’m Severa, currently age twenty-two, and somehow these two wheedled me into going on a road trip with them.”

“Don’t lie,” Inigo says, sounding happy she’s played along. “You were pretty excited to do this too.”

Severa says nothing. She keeps saying nothing for long enough that Inigo whines, _“Severa.”_

“Yeah, okay,” Severa relents, smirking slightly. “I guess I was pretty excited too.”

“Knew it,” Inigo says. He turns the camera on himself. “Like Severa says, we’re on a road trip. Our families are going on vacation in about two weeks, and rather than traveling with them, we decided we’d meet them there while traveling around and basically doing whatever we want in the meantime. We’ve been planning this little excursion for about a year now, so the three of us have saved up in advance—Hey!”

“Enough of that,” Severa says.

There’s struggle for the camera. The video shakes until eventually Severa—standing between the beds—is victorious. She films Inigo, who is still sitting on his own mattress, frowning up at her.

“It’s your turn,” Severa says. “Come on. Age, name, interesting facts.”

Inigo says, “But I already—”

“If I have to do it, so do you,” Severa tells him. She sounds amused.

After a beat, Inigo chuckles. “I guess that’s fair.” He looks up at the camera. “I’m Inigo. I’m currently twenty-one.”

“And?” Severa prompts.

Inigo smiles charmingly. “And I’m very excited to be on this romantic getaway with my lovely girlfriend and boyfriend.”

“Hey!” Severa says loudly. Her arm falls, and the camera is aimed at the drab carpet, seemingly forgotten. “You can’t say that!”

“Why not?” Inigo asks, sounding unbothered. “You _are_ very lovely, my lady.”

The camera is still only recording the carpet, but the displeasure in Severa’s voice is audible. “Knock it off. Now we have to start over.”

“But we don’t,” Inigo says.

“Our parents don’t know—”

“They don't have to see this,” Inigo says soothingly. The camera shakes with movement, but other than Severa and Inigo’s knees getting closer, it’s hard to tell what they’re doing. “This can be just for us.”

There’s a sound of a door opening. At some point the sound of water has stopped.

“What are you guys talking about?” Owain asks.

The camera cuts off.

 

 

 

“Literally a day,” Severa says from behind the camera. “They literally could not keep it in their pants for one day.”

The rest stop is deserted except for Inigo’s car. The film is blurry for a moment until the camera zooms in on Inigo’s backseat. Through the car window and from some feet away, Inigo and Owain are visibly kissing. Enthusiastically. They don’t seem to notice being filmed.

 “I’m gone for two seconds and this is what happens.”

The back of Owain’s head hits the glass as Inigo leans forward. They don’t stop kissing.

“We didn’t even do anything last night. Inigo and I did facials while Owain narrated. We had a bed then. And yet here we are.”

Finally, they break apart so Owain can mouth at Inigo's neck.

“Hey!” Severa shouts at them. “Am I invited to this party or what?”

Neither of them seem to hear her. After a beat, however, Inigo opens his eyes and sees Severa standing outside the rest stop. He nudges Owain. His mouth moves, but the distance and the interior of the car make it impossible to hear what he says.

Owain turns around and spots Severa. He grins widely and waves.

Severa sighs loudly. It’s a fond sound.

The camera cuts off.

 

 

 

 “—because he can’t stay cooped up in the car all day,” Owain is saying. “It’s in his DNA.”

“Can’t relate,” Severa says. The camera shifts as she speaks. “He can’t wait until we get to the next rest stop? Or another motel?”

“Too many potential eyes,” Owain says. “And too cramped.”

“Fair.”

The video is clearly taken through the open car window again. The car is pulled over on the side of the road, and a slow pan of the area reveals the flat land is empty as far as the camera can see. No other cars drive by. Owain waves from the backseat when the camera pans over him.

Severa aims back out into the field. Inigo stands so far out near the distant tree line that he’s almost a dot on the horizon. He sways and twirls in a way that he can be doing nothing but dancing.

“How can he be so bold and yet so shy at the same time?” Owain muses from off screen.

“Pot, kettle,” Severa says. Then she says, “You think we could convince him to give us an actual show later?”

Owain hums. “I’m sure we could manage it.”

In the distance, Inigo stops moving. He turns toward the car and shouts something too quiet for the camera to pick up.

Severa leans out the window and shouts back. _“What?”_

Inigo repeats his inaudible yell.

“What did he say?” Owain asks, leaning forward. A sliver of blond hair catches in the corner of the frame, then disappears.

“He wants to know if we’re watching him,” Severa says. Before Owain can say anything more, she leans back out the window and shouts, _“No! Just dance!”_

Inigo shouts something else in reply, but he’s too far away to be heard.

Severa and Owain wait. Eventually, Inigo starts dancing again.

The camera records Inigo’s distant dancing figure for a while in silence.

After a while, the camera cuts off.

 

 

 

_“Without a song or a dance, what are we?”_

Overlapping with Inigo’s singing in the shower and the tinny blare of the music blasting from his phone, Severa says, “Does he realize we can hear him?”

The camera is aimed at the bathroom doorway. They’re in another motel.

Somewhere out of frame, Owain chuckles. “I think he forgot.”

 _“So I say, thank you for the music,”_ Inigo sings along. _“For giving it to me.”_

“He’s in a good mood today,” Severa adds.

Owain says, “I think it’s because he got to dance earlier.”

They don’t say anything more. The camera remains aimed at the bathroom door. On the other side of it, Inigo continues to sing.

_“Mother says I was a dancer before I could walk…”_

Eventually, the camera cuts off.

 

 

 

“So,” Owain says, the camera turned on himself. “We’ve been driving on and off for two days now. We haven’t really been able to do anything out of the ordinary so far. But! The next city we’ll be rolling up to is pretty large, so Severa and Inigo suggested we take the day to shop and relax and do whatever. So that’s the plan for now.”

“Yeah, if it doesn’t rain,” Inigo says sadly. Owain turns the camera toward the passenger seat where Inigo sits. “I don’t like the look of those clouds.”

“Aw, it’ll be fine,” Owain says. “There’s lots of stuff to do indoors anyway. Plus, I think that’s Severa’s plan anyway.”

“Nothing like carrying her shopping bags for miles,” Inigo sighs with good humor

Owain looks at something out of frame. “Speaking of which…”

“I’m on it,” Inigo says. “I’m not called Dependable Inigo for nothing.”

“Yeah, I don’t think—Okay.”

Inigo is already climbing out of the car by the time Owain cuts himself off. Owain aims the camera at the entrance of the motel to catch Severa making her way to the car with two roller bags in hand. Inigo jogs up to her. Though their exchange is silent, Inigo ends up taking one of Severa’s bags after a moment.

“Aw, how sweet,” Owain croons. Severa and Inigo start making their way to the car.

Owain zooms in on Inigo and Severa’s faces. Inigo smiles affectionately at Severa. The hard lines of Severa’s face grow soft in return.

Uncharacteristically sharp, Owain suddenly says, “What the fuck?”

He zooms out on Inigo and Severa. The parking lot scenery is a blur as Owain whips the camera around, but he’s not fast enough. The camera catches what might be the sleeve of a dark hoodie disappearing around the corner of the building. Owain keeps the camera trained at the corner, but nothing else appears.

“Oh, fuck that,” he says after a beat. He unrolls the window, and though Inigo and Severa and only halfway across the parking lot, he loudly tells them, “Get in.”

Mid-laugh at something Severa has said, Inigo looks in Owain’s direction and says, “What?”

Severa echoes him.

“Get in,” Owain says, voice serious.

Severa and Inigo frown. They walk faster to the car.

The camera cuts off.

 

 

 

The car is moving. Arguing voices overlap. The camera is dark, and it is likely no one is aware they are being recorded.

Frustrated, Owain says, “You guys aren’t listening to me.”

“We _are_ listening,” Inigo says in exasperation. “But are you even hearing yourself? You—”

“I know what I saw!” Owain insists.

“Yeah, and what you saw is crazy,” Severa says. “Even more so than usual.”

“Severa,” Inigo chastises.

There’s a rustle of fabric.

“What?” Severa says. “It’s true.”

Owain makes an irritated sound.

Inigo sighs. “Nobody is saying you’re crazy.”

“I—”

_“Severa.”_

“Okay, whatever,” Owain cuts in. “I know how it sounds. But don’t either of you believe me?”

“No,” Severa says flatly.

“Inigo!” Owain pleads. “Come on.”

Inigo says, “I’m sure you saw somebody! But I don’t think it was who you think it is."

There is a terse moment of silence.

Sounding somewhat more subdued, Severa speaks up. “Alright, maybe you’re not nuts. But what’s more likely? That the creepy dude you keep seeing around your house followed us two days out of town to creep on us _here_? Or that you mistook a drifter for somebody else?”

It doesn’t sound like she’s trying to be purposely mean. That doesn’t mean the impact of her words is any softer.

Owain protests, “You guys have seen him around my house too!”

“I’m pretty sure he just _lives in your neighborhood_ , Owain,” Severa says. “And we don’t even know that he actually followed us out here! That could have been anybody!”

Sounding uncomfortable, Inigo says, “She has a point.”

A beat passes. Then three beats.

“Owain,” Inigo starts.

“It’s whatever,” Owain says.

Severa grunts. “Come on—"

“I said it’s whatever.”

They fall into silence again.

There is sudden sharp static as the camera is jostled. A finger touches the lens.

Breaking the silence, Severa says, “Ugh, I accidentally hit record.”

The camera cuts off.

 

 

 

“Told you it would rain,” Inigo says. The camera sways in his grasp with every step over the uneven cobblestone. They look to be walking through some kind of quaint, stylized outlet mall filled with boutiques.

Several steps ahead, Severa made an acknowledging sound, glancing at the sky. She’s already holding a small plastic bag. Walking between them, Owain says nothing.

“Owain?” Inigo prompts.

Owain’s expression is reserved. “Yeah,” he agrees neutrally.

The group falls into silence again.

Until Severa passes in front of another clothing boutique, that is. Then she eyes the window excitedly.

“We’re stopping here,” she declares. Spinning on her heel, Severa plants her hands on her hips. “You and Owain—"

Severa’s eyes flicker across the street. She closes her mouth.

“Actually,” she amends. “Let’s go in there first.”

She points to the store across the street.

“In where?” Inigo’s already turning the camera.

The sign above the door reads _Anna’s Armory_. Various pieces of chainmail and rusty looking swords hang in the window. The door is wooden and heavy-looking, and it appears to be exactly the type of place plucked from Owain’s imagination.

“Yeah,” Inigo agrees quickly. “That sounds good. Owain?”

The camera turns again. Owain stares up at the armory sign, looking less withdrawn than before.

“Let’s look around,” Inigo says, circling around Owain to hustle him into the store. Severa comes up on Owain’s another side and hooks his arm in hers. “It looks interesting.”

“Oh.” Owain blinks. He straightens up a little as Severa and Inigo guide him toward the door. “Yeah. That sounds…”

He trails off as Severa opens the door. Owain gapes, fascinated, for only a second before he makes a beeline for a shelf covered in shiny metal helmets and other knickknacks. Severa goes with him.

From the doorway, Inigo pans around the store. The store is packed wall to wall with interesting items, but Inigo only gets as far as the counter before the face of the red-headed storekeeper stops him in his tracks.

“Uh.”

The woman's sly grin grows. “Nice camera. Gonna use it to advertise for me or just look?”

Inigo chuckles nervously, picking up on her meaning. “Sorry.”

The camera cuts off.

 

 

 

“Just how delicious is that peanut butter ice cream?” Inigo asks. “Inquiring minds want to know.”

The camera is trained on Owain, who takes another large bite of the brown treat on the end of his cone. The sky outside the parlor window is still gray and drab, but the inside of the ice cream shop is bright and comforting. Owain and Severa sit next to each other on one side of the booth, Inigo on the other.

“Delicious,” Owain answers after he swallows. Ice cream stains the corner of his lip. “They should have named this the elixir of the gods instead of plan old peanut butter. You want some?”

Inigo makes a gagging sound. “Yeah, I’ll stick with chocolate, thanks. Severa?”

Severa licks a long strip of pink and white ice cream off her own cone.

“Marshmallow and strawberry is the best idea I’ve ever had,” she says. “I wish they sold this in our town.”

“Maybe it’s your calling to open the ultimate ice cream shop,” Inigo says.

Severa rolls her eyes as Owain laughs. The camera shakes slightly as Inigo uses a plastic spoon to onehandedly scoop a small spoonful of chocolate ice cream from his little bowl into his mouth.

“I’d do it if it was lucrative,” Severa says after taking another bite from her cone. Her two scoops of ice cream tilt dangerously to one side of her cone. The camera steadies again as Inigo sets the dish aside. “You’d better believe I’d have the most stylish shop in town.”

Owain laughs. “You’d settle for just our town?”

“A girl has to start somewhere,” Severa amends. “I’d get to be the most popular in the world eventually.”

“I’m sure you would,” Inigo says.

Severa gives him an indecipherable look from across the table. At the very least, it looks amused.

Owain knocks their shoulders together playfully. Severa turns her attention to him next, and Inigo makes a pleased sound.

Then Owain nods his head at Inigo’s bowl. “Aren’t you going to finish that?”

“Oh, right.”

The camera cuts off.

 

 

 

The camera turns on, but the world is dark. A few blurry streaks of dim green and yellow light come into focus after a moment. They’re the lights from the car dashboard and the headlights.

The video is taken from the backseat of Inigo’s car. Inigo sits upright in the driver’s seat with one hand on the wheel. His other hand is stretched out across the divider and holding Severa’s, brushing his thumb slowly back and forth against the back of her hand. The passenger seat is reclined slightly backwards. It’s impossible to tell if Severa is awake or asleep.

The person filming—presumably Owain—is holding the camera sideways, clearly laying across the backseat themselves. The wind outside passes near silently as the car drives on. The camera remains trained on Inigo and Severa and their intertwined hands.

After nearly a minute of silent filming, Inigo inclines his head slightly toward Severa. “Another ten minutes and then—Ah.”

Severa doesn’t acknowledge him. She is apparently asleep.

Inigo glances up in the rearview mirror back at the camera. He looks surprised to find Owain awake. Then his face softens into a smile.

“Ten more minutes,” Inigo whispers.

“Okay,” Owain whispers back.

Inigo focuses on the road but doesn’t drop Severa’s hand. Owain films for a moment longer. He softly exhales from behind the camera.

The camera cuts off.

 

 

 

“—not even halfway there,” Owain says, his voice light. He swims into focus as the camera steadies itself. Leaning back on his elbows, Owain looks up at somebody else out of frame.

Severa crawls into frame and between Owain’s legs. The motel mattress squeaks under her added weight. Inigo is presumably filming them from another bed or chair of some kind.

“So?” Severa says, leaning into Owain. Owain leans up to meet her, their chests brushing. “We’ve got time. What’s an extra day here or there?”

“Alright,” Owain says easily. He places one hand on Severa’s side and runs his palm down to her hip. “If you’re fine with that.”

“Did I just say so?”

Owain notices the camera and grins. Severa takes that moment to cross the space between them and capture Owain’s mouth with hers. Instantly Owain is enraptured by her, and their eyes fall shut as they kiss. They don’t part for air as Severa pushes Owain back to lay flat on the bed, plunging down after him with enthusiasm.

Inigo audibly swallows from behind the camera.

“You guys,” he says, slow and syrupy, “make quite the show.”

Severa cracks one eye open and peers over at him. She breaks away from Owain when she realizes Inigo is recording.

“Oh, so you want a _show_ ,” she says.

“Well—” Inigo starts, fumbling a bit with the camera.

Owain pushes himself up on his elbows slightly. He’s still smiling. “What happened to that ice cream idea?”

Severa huffs fondly and leans back down to kiss Owain. She’s more active this time, rolling her body on top of Owain’s. Owain sighs loudly into their kiss and makes a grabbing motion in the air in Inigo’s direction.

“Oh, not yet,” Inigo says, amused and intrigued. “I think I’m good where I am for now.”

Owain makes another sound at that but stops motioning for him anyway. He traces his hands up and down Severa’s sides, then up her back until he can fist at her hair. Severa makes a pleased sound when he does.

Quietly, Inigo zooms in on Severa and Owain’s faces, focusing on their kissing. Owain’s hair has begun to stick up in strange places. Severa stops kissing Owain’s mouth only to start pecking and mouthing down the side of Owain’s cheek. She stops at a space just below his jaw. Owain’s lips part soundlessly.

“Looking good,” Inigo sighs.

The camera is still focused on Owain and Severa’s faces. Severa adjusts until she’s kissing Owain’s collarbone, just above his shirt. Suddenly, Owain’s lips part even further. He tilts his head back with a gasp. In that same moment, Inigo’s breath hitches.

After a moment the camera zooms out to show Severa and Owain’s full bodies again, revealing that Severa has reached down to rub at Owain’s erection through his shorts. Owain tilts his hips up further into her touch. He turns his head toward Severa, seemingly looking for another kiss, but she’s just out of reach.

The camera is jostled for a moment as Inigo fumbles with something. Given the sounds of a zipper, he is presumably pulling himself out of his pants and shoving the excess cloth out of the way. The camera steadies again.

Severa stops rubbing Owain through his shorts and reaches up to cup his face instead. She gets the chance to rock against him once, twice, before Owain wraps an arm around her waist and rolls them over so he’s on top. Then Owain rolls his hips against hers instead.

It goes on like that for a while—Owain and Severa grinding against each other through their clothes, kissing on and off while Inigo gasps quietly and touches himself from behind the camera—until eventually Severa rolls her head to the side, opens her eyes, and takes Inigo in for the first time in a while.

“Something you like?” Inigo jokes.

Severa tilts her head to the side to give Owain easier access to her neck.

“I thought we were supposed to be the ones putting on a show?” she says.

Inigo doesn’t have a good response for that. “Ah, well…”

Owain makes a sound against Severa’s skin. He looks up.

“Do you want to join us already or do you still want to film?” he asks. He sounds like he already knows the answer.

Inigo doesn’t reply to that one. Severa and Owain fall out of view as the camera is quickly placed aside.

The camera cuts off.

 

 

 

There is a lot of background noise when the footage starts.

“We’re at the fair,” Owain says to the camera. He’s squinting into the sun. Dozens of people wander through the area behind him. Stalls line either side of the makeshift street. “Severa happened to spot a sign on the highway, so we decided to go. So far, good choice.”

“Do you want my sunglasses?” Inigo offers. Severa makes a sound off to the side.

Owain turns the camera on them. True to his word, he and Severa are wearing a pair of identical shades.

“No thanks,” Owain says.

Severa isn’t paying attention. She’s looking off into the distance.

“I’ll be right back,” she says, already stepping away. Owain zooms in on a sign that reads _RESTROOMS_  some feet away. Even more people crowd around the sign. He zooms out and focuses on Inigo again.

“Where’s she going?” Inigo asks, looking out after her. “What if we wanted to come?”

Owain snorts. “I’m pretty sure she has to use the bathroom, dude.”

“Oh,” Inigo says.

Owain laughs.

“What are we supposed to do now?” Inigo continues, looking around the stalls. “I was hungry, but…”

“We can just wait for her,” Owain says, panning the camera around and taking in the various people and entertainment options. “It’ll be, what, twenty minutes?”

“Seriously?”

“It’s a long line,” Owain says.

Inigo doesn’t say anything for a moment. The camera doesn’t pick up any rumble besides that of the crowd, but Owain turns the camera on Inigo accusingly anyway. “Was that your stomach?”

Inigo’s cheeks are pink. The sunlight is very bright, and a trickle of sweat lingers near Inigo’s hairline.

“Maybe,” he admits. “We’ll just wait for her. It won’t be that long.”

“Aw,” Owain says sympathetically. “Would it help if I keep you distracted until then?”

Inigo smiles with a flash of teeth.

“Will you catch me if I swoon from hunger in the meantime?” he teases.

“Let’s try to avoid that.” Owain looks around, swinging the camera as he goes. He scans the crowd until he stops on Inigo again, further away than before, and clears his throat. “Two heroes stand deep in enemy territory, desperately trying to blend in. They are on the verge of collapse from starvation—"

Inigo laughs, bright and loud. “I’m not _that_ bad off.”

Owain barrels onward.

“—on the verge of starvation when their third ally leaves them behind in order to scout ahead.” Inigo is rolling his eyes, but he’s smiling. “Options swirl through the humid air. What to do? Should they conserve their energy? Attempt to gain valuable information from the locals? Or bide their time until it becomes clear their ally isn’t coming back and then mount a rescue?”

“I don’t think we’ll be doing much rescuing on an empty stomach,” Inigo says. “Plus, I think Severa would be rescuing us instead.”

“The dancing warrior and the dark hero debated about what to do,” Owain narrates. “The air grew even more tense with indecision. Hunger was getting to both of them. Suddenly, from the distance, there came a—"

“Hey!” Severa says, stomping up to them quickly. Owain and Inigo whirled to face her, startled. “We’re leaving.”

Owain says “But we just got here!” right as Inigo says, “I thought you had to—"

“We’re _leaving_.” Severa sends them a desperate look before checking over her shoulder. The crowd continues on as normal behind her. “Now. Don’t ask.”

“Uh,” Owain says smartly. The camera swings between her and Inigo. “Yeah. Okay.”

“Okay?” Inigo echoes. He cranes his neck in the opposite way of the flow of the crowed. “I think the exit is… that way.”

“Then let’s go.” Severa is already shuffling them forward.

Owain scans the crowd with the camera for a moment, but nothing stands out. Severa grabs him by the arm and pulls him along.

“ _Owain_ ,” Severa says. Desperately.

The camera cuts off.

 

 

 

“So Severa just got off the phone with the police,” Inigo tells the camera, lips twisted downward in uneasy displeasure. “And, uh, it turns out they can’t do shit.”

“And you’re recording this because this sounds like a Lifetime movie plot and all three of us are going to be murdered later,” Owain chimes in, sounding darkly amused.

Severa’s snort and snide “Like you’re one to talk,” overlap with Inigo’s stressed, _“_ Don’t say that, please.”

There’s a brief flash of Owain and Severa as Inigo swings the camera around. Owain’s mood seems significantly dampened compared to how he had appeared at the fair, and Severa looks no happier.

Owain begins to say something else, but a sharp sound from Severa cuts him off. Inigo takes in a slow breath. The camera is turned on himself once more.

“So, to start from the beginning,” Inigo says, “there’s been this guy that has been hanging around Owain’s house recently?”

It sounds almost like a question. Inigo looks to Owain offscreen for assurance and apparently receives it. He looks back to the camera.

“Owain has seen him the most,” he continues. “Severa has seen him a couple times. I think I might have seen him once? Anyway, this has only been in the last, like, month or so.”

“I told the police about him,” Owain jumps in. “As much as stalking your victims can be cool in fiction, I do _not_ want that in real life.”

Inigo shrugs. “To tell you the truth, I’ve kind of forgotten about it except when you bring it up.”

“Awful boyfriend,” Owain jokingly says from offscreen. “And girlfriend. Both of you are the worst.”

“Hey, I already apologized!” Severa says before Inigo can. Their back and forth sounds almost like serious banter until Severa softens her voice to say, “I know I already said this, but I’m sorry about before. I didn’t think...”

Owain softly replies, “I know. It’s alright.”

“But…”

Their whispers become inaudible as Inigo glances towards them out of frame and then continues to talk to the camera.

“Like Owain said. He’s reported the guy before. But apparently it can’t be proved that this guy is doing anything besides just living his life or that he’s even looking at Owain’s house specifically—”

“He _was_ ,” Owain insists before becoming immediately distracted by Severa’s whispers again.

“—even though some officers drove around the neighborhood before looking for him. And they didn’t even see anybody who fit his description. So.” Inigo’s mouth twists. “That’s where we’re at right now. Owain saw him about two days ago, and we didn’t believe him then because it just seemed too crazy. Sorry, Owain. Then Severa saw him today, which pretty much proves he is following us. We’ve come too far for him not to be. I don’t think Owain’s parents have ever seen him even though Owain has definitely mentioned him before…”

Inigo’s expression is searching. For what, though, is a mystery.

Eventually he continues, “Oh, and in case anyone else is watching this later, the man we’re talking about is about five foot… eleven? Maybe? Um. It’s hard to see his face because I think Owain said he always has his face covered by his navy blue hoodie. But that’s pretty distinctive too.”

He glances off camera briefly again.

“I think his hair is blue also? But like. A lighter blue. Dyed, obviously, because blue hair isn’t natural.  Tends to stare. Generally just, ah, pretty creepy. You know. And I’m rambling now, so that’s cool.”

“Why are you making this sound like a last will and testament?” Severa cuts in suddenly, something almost nervous creeping under the general annoyance of her words. “Do you think this guy is going to kill us in our sleep or something?”

Inigo quickly reassures her, “No, no, of course not! I’m just trying to cover our bases! You know, like those crime shows always say. Documentation.”

“Uh-huh.”

“Hey, don’t stress,” Owain says soothingly. “We’re fine.”

“I thought _you_ were the one who was worked up about this before,” Inigo points out. Accusingly, he turns the camera on Owain and Severa, who lean into each other’s space. “Why is it suddenly ‘fine’ now?”

“Because now _you’re_ starting to freak out,” Owain says.

“I feel like now is a good time for it!”

Inigo is almost certainly on the verge of freaking out.

“Hey, it’s okay! Bad times like these call for reckless nice guys like you.” Owain smiles nervously. “Or me, I guess. Anyway, I’m saying we’ll be fine. Don’t worry.”

“I know that’s some kind of video game reference,” Inigo sighs, “but I’m not going to even bother asking.”

To the camera, he says, “We’re changing motels tonight and moving one town over because we don’t want to risk anything. _And_ we’ll be telling the front desk to keep an eye out. Just in case it’s not a coincidence.”

“Only a moron would think it wasn’t a coincidence by now,” Severa scoffs. As if she’s mimicking somebody, Severa says, _“It’s not illegal to go to a fair, ma’am.”_

She sticks out her tongue at her own words.

Inigo glances at the camera. His lips are still pressed together tightly.

“I guess that’s it for now,” he says. “We don’t want to cut our road trip short just yet. And we don’t want to freak out our families. So, you know. We’re doing what we can for now.”

He waits but nothing more happens. Eventually, he says, “That’s it, I guess.”

The camera cuts off.

 

 

 

“—just don’t want this to ruin our vacation.”

Inigo’s quiet voice is nearly inaudible on the camera. His and Severa’s voices come from the far background. On screen, the camera films the cloudy gray skies and the light drizzle falling from said clouds. A hint of empty parking lot is visible in the bottom of the frame. Though neither shown or heard, Owain is presumably the one holding the camera.

“Then don’t let it,” Severa says, just as quiet. “I know it’s nerve-wracking but…”

The rest of her voice is inaudible.

The rain falls.

Eventually her words become loud enough to be caught on camera again.

“…three of us and one of him, and anyway, who says we didn’t lose him already? So don’t get worked up over it.”

Inigo’s laugh is strained. “…pretty hard not to get nervous.”

“Yeah, I know.” Severa’s sigh is louder than her words. “But we’re together, alright? So…”

The rest of her words are muffled by the rain. It’s eventually Inigo whose voice resurfaces first.

“…just wish I knew what he…”

“Who knows?” Severa says. “Maybe…. harmless…”

A strained laugh. “Yeah, maybe.”

The drizzle continues. So does the remainder of the inaudible conversation.

After a while, the camera cuts off.

 

 

 

“Wait, what?” Inigo giggles, his hair mused on the bed. “Why are you recording this?”

He sounds happy, though the last few videos have been anything but. His head has sunk into the overly soft looking motel pillow, and he squints up at the camera like he’s lost his contacts.

“Because I need to get your extreme mushiness on film,” Severa says, sounding just as amused. From the angle of the camera, she must be sitting on top of him. “Have to have things to embarrass you later with.”

“Oh, he manages that all on his own,” a third voice chimes in—Owain.

Inigo shakes his head back and forth. “I hate you guys.”

“ _No_ ,” Severa draws out. “You _love_ us. You said it.”

“I might have.” Inigo sniffs. He tries to look serious, but he breaks into a big grin again. “Okay, I do. I love you both. And you love me, right?”

“Maybe,” Severa says coyly.

Inigo’s frown is exaggerated and short lived. Owain ducks into frame by placing a loud smack on Inigo’s cheek.

“Now that’s what I’m talking about,” Inigo says. Owain’s snort is picked up by the camera even when the man himself moves back out of frame.

Severa laughs.

The camera cuts off.

 

 

 

The camera comes into focus on Severa sitting on a bed with a towel thrown over one arm. She’s wearing a black bikini, and her hair is down for once. She’s sitting in, again, presumably another motel or very cheap hotel.

 _“Three days of peace and quiet,”_ Inigo sings to his own made-up melody from the bathroom, _“and now it’s time to swim.”_

“Do you want me to put sunscreen on you?” Owain asks from behind the camera. “The watery wastes in which we seek our mirth can be deceiving when it comes to the cruelty of the scorching skies.”

Severa snorts, but her lips are upturned. “Yeah, sure. Inigo is taking forever anyway.”

“I’m coming!” Inigo calls out to her.

“I think you need both hands for this one, genius,” Severa says.

Laughter is heard as the camera cuts off.

 

 

 

 _“Eleven at night and we’re alone on the road,”_ Inigo is singing again, but this time his voice is tense. It’s clearly night outside, and it’s only the light from the dashboard that illuminates his silhouette as the car drives down the darkened road. _“And we have no cell service, so we’re pretty boned.”_

With Owain in the passenger seat, only Severa can be recording from the back.

“Just call the cops,” Severa hisses. The camera shakes like she’s fiddling with it. “Ugh, where’s the night vision on this thing?”

“I told you, I’m trying,” Owain says, sounding just as tense. He fiddles with his phone in his lap. “There’s no service still. Also I’d be very shocked if it had night vision.”

Severa swears.

 _“We’re in a horror movie,”_ Inigo sings. Nervous singing. His fingers tap on the steering wheel like he’d rather be up and moving around than in the driver’s seat.

“Hey, we’re fine,” Owain says, but even he doesn’t sound like he believes it.

Severa twists around in her seat and aims the camera out the back window. The road behind them is even darker than the one laid out before them. That is, it's dark aside from the incredibly brilliant set of headlights that are tailing Inigo’s car. The lights are so bright, in fact, that the car the headlights are attached to is practically invisible in the dark.

“This is what happens when you get overconfident and think everything’s fine,” Inigo says. Then: “Oh my god, we’re literally the dumb teens from every horror movie on earth.”

“Shut up, we’re not teenagers,” Severa says absently.

Inigo makes a stressed sound. Severa zooms in on the bright headlights tailing them again but neither the car or the driver become suddenly visible.

“Well, whatever,” Owain says as Severa turns back around in her seat, looking up from his futile effort to use his phone. “As long as the car doesn’t give out—"

“No way,” Inigo says. “I got my car checked out before we left. And I still have half a tank left.”

“Great,” Owain says. “So we can just drive until we get to a populated place and then we can stop.”

Inigo’s grimace is more akin to a full body flinch. “Don’t jinx it.”

Severa says, “How could he—”

Just then the car makes a lurching noise.

 _“I thought you said you got the car checked out,”_ Severa wheezes.

“I did!” Inigo says. “They said it was perfectly fine!”

“I can’t believe we’re going to die because of your piece of shit car.”

“Hey!” Owain says loudly. “Nobody is dying!”

Inigo’s anxious noises grow in intensity.

“You’re right,” Severa says. “I’m going to kick this guy’s ass. And _you’re_ going to record it.”

Strained, Inigo says, “My hero.”

The car continues to cough and sputter. Slowly, the glowing speedometer arrow begins falling back to zero.

Severa twists around. The headlights following them grow closer.

“I haven’t been in a fight since elementary school,” Inigo bemoans.

“Those fights were with me,” Owain points out.

“I know! And I only won half the time!”

“Yeah, well, the other half were my wins. So between the two of us, we have a one hundred percent win ratio. So we’re guaranteed to be fine.”

Inigo is startled into a laugh.

“Besides, what if he doesn’t want a fight?” Owain continues.

Inigo perks up.

“Oh, no,” Severa says. “He does.”

Inigo wilts. Owain quickly reassures him, “Heroes always come at the darkest hour! We may be saved yet.”

“Yeah, by _me_ ,” Severa says. “And you guys are going to help me. Don’t give up before this even starts!”

“It’d be easier if we weren’t in the middle of nowhere,” Inigo says. “And if we had cell service.”

“Inigo.”

“I'm joking,” he defends. “Rest assured, I’m not giving up on anything.”

“You better not be,” Severa says. "And you're not allowed to panic either.

"Believe me when I say I'm trying my best right now."

Severa says, "Good. You're doing great."

"Thanks."

“Remember,” Owain tells them. “A hundred percent win ratio.”

“Yeah,” Inigo says, still sounding unsure. Stress and nerves creep under all of their voices.

“And I love you.”

“Yeah,” Inigo says again, softer. “Me too.”

“Yes, I love you too,” Severa says before Owain can say anything to her. “But again! We’re going to be fine!”

“Definitely,” Owain agrees too easily. “I just couldn’t remember if I told you today.”

“You did,” Severa says. Then she adds, “But I appreciate it.”

“We are at a near standstill now,” Inigo says, pointing out how the car has slowed to a crawl. His fingers flex nervously on the steering wheel. “Should we… get out, or…”

“In a second,” Severa says, turning around for a third time. The car that has been following them has also stopped on the side of the road, only feet away. “I want to get this guy’s face on film first. Just in case.”

“Gotcha.”

Nothing happens for a moment. Nobody speaks. Nobody gets out of the either car.

“He’s just some creepy guy,” Severa says without prompting. The camera steadies on the headlights. “He couldn’t even show his face until now because he’s been such a coward. I bet he can’t even throw a punch either. I bet he—hey, what?”

The footage begins to lose focus. The camera bobs as Severa does something, but the film simply gets blurrier.

“Owain, your dumb camera is messing up,” Severa says.

“Then use your phone,” Owain says. With Severa turned around, he and Inigo are no longer in frame. The footage only continues to grow blurrier until only the audio is of any use.

There’s a beat of silence, and then:

“What the hell? My phone is acting like there’s no battery but—Ugh, whatever. Inigo, give me—"

“Uh,” Inigo cuts in. “My phone suddenly isn’t working suddenly.”

A beat.

“Owain,” Severa starts.

Owain says, “I think you know the answer to that.”

“What the hell is happening?” Severa says sharply. “Are we in the Twilight Zone? Is this guy a _magician_?”

 _“Horror movie,”_ Inigo sings anxiously.

Suddenly the audio on the camera begins to fill with static as well.

“Is this guy…”

The audio distorts enough to leave the rest of Severa’s voice inaudible. Even the shuffling sounds are muffled and strange.

“Alright,” Owain says. “…getting out.”

Two other voices overlap.

“Owain, don’t—”

“—should go _together_.”

“…don’t know…”

The audio bursts into static. With the footage a bright, blurred mess and the audio so distorted it’s incoherent, it’s no surprise when the camera cuts off.

 

 

 

(The screen reads: “No other footage available.”)

 

 

 

_(A live news broadcast plays on the television. The broadcast signal is weak and occasionally cuts out. A fuzzy image of a news anchor speaks directly to the camera._

_“Early this morning, an abandoned vehicle on the side of the road in (static) was reported (static). The vehicle is thought to be related to the case of three young adults who disappeared earlier this week. As reported (static), there has been no sign of (static) since Severa (static) called her mother last Friday to say she and her friends would be joining the rest of their families on vacation early. This vehicle may be the missing clue in their last known whereabouts.”_

_(static)_

_“…vehicle in question is thought to belong to Ini—_ ( _static). Police are still investigating any leads in the matter and have declined to comment further for the time being.”_

_A group photo is thrown up on screen. Two men and one woman smile back at the camera, frozen in time._

_“If you happen to recognize the vehicle shown left, any of the three individuals on screen now, or if you otherwise have any information related to their disappearance, please call (static).”_

_The broadcast cuts out.)_

**Author's Note:**

> "Bad times like this call for reckless nice guys like you!" -- Owain's video game reference is from Mother 3. It seemed like a game he would like.
> 
> This fic is in present tense because films, like books, are always happening in the moment. So even when the video starts over, the Trio are always presently doing whatever it is they're doing. It's not over for them. It's still ongoing. Or at least that's how I rationalized the present-tense choice, haha.
> 
> I literally leave the country tomorrow to study abroad for a year and I've been writing this more than I've been studying, lol. Whoops. I hope you thought it was as worth it as I did!
> 
> Feel free to leave a comment below or hit me up on my [tumblr!](http://someobscurereference.tumblr.com/) I get a lot of FE14 meta and fic related asks there, so feel free to browse through my "asks" or "fe14" tag for some extra stuff from me and your fellow readers you may not see over here. Or send in a question of your own if you had one! Thanks for reading!


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